Fancy an evening in the company of Father Ted and co?

Interview by: Caroline Foran

As big Father Ted fans we couldn't wait to catch up with the man behind Ted & Co, an exciting comedy evening wherein dinner is included (doesn't get much better than this, right?) heading back to Edinburgh next month before coming home again for a much anticipated Irish tour. Michael Wilson Green chats to me about his love for Ireland's proudest production, what it's like to receive a standing ovation and what we can expect from their forthcoming tour.

First of all, tell me little bit about Ted & Co.
I wrote the script for Ted & Co - The Dinner Show in 2005 as a parody tribute to the great cult smash hit comedy series Father Ted.

How did this come about?
Laughlines tour with various comedy tribute shows, we were repeatedly asked if we could write and develop a Father Ted tribute show. Due to this demand I put pen to paper and the rest is history!

You guys must be pretty big Father Ted fans?
Yes, we are huge fans, who isn't? It must be one of the best comedy's of all time.

We are too in entertainment.ie, why do you think the show resonated so much with audiences?
It had a great team of actors, Dermott Morgan was a comedy genius and is a legend, Ardal O' Hanlon, Pauline McLynn and Frank Kelly were all brilliant and made for the roles. The show was full of irony and surrealism but also touched on the characters specific idiosyncrasies. So it was the talent of the actors, the strength of the characters and the creative writing that really made the show a hit.

So you guys did extremely well at Edinburgh last year, how was that?
It was great! The audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe were fantastic and loved the show! The show achieved a sell-out run, great reviews and standing ovations!.

And you're off again now in August, what are you most looking forward to about that?
Yes, due to demand we have added more show dates for 2012, really looking forward to entertaining the fringe audience, most especially the live improvisation, it keeps the show fresh as the audience are part of the show, no two shows are the same!

For people who haven't heard of it, can you explain the evening in more detail?
Performed to perfection, the highly acclaimed cast combine satire and surrealism with a good helping of old fashioned Irish comedy to bring the tribute show to life. Its a highly interactive 2-hour comedy show performed whilst the audience enjoy a 3-course meal. The famous priests are your hosts for the evening and will wow the audience with high-energy improvisation, audience participation and perfect comic timing. Mrs Doyle is never far away and sees it as her sole purpose to supply the audience with copious amounts of tea! It's the most unique and enjoyable dining experience you will ever have!

Wow, sounds like you got that straight from a press release! And when you're done with Edinburgh it's back home for an Irish tour. How do the audiences compare here with Edinburgh?
Really excited to tour the show across Ireland, all audiences are great but the audience participation in Ireland is fantastic, we have had some great evenings!

Where will the tour take you?
We are touring extensively, from Dublin to Waterford to Cork, Midlands and County Mayo plus more, we have 26 show dates at venues across Ireland.

Ted & Co isn't all you do though, tell me about the Fawlty Towers evening?
The Laughlines Fawlty Towers Dinner Show has been touring since 1997, it's great fun as Basil, Sybil and Manuel entertain the audience with live sketches. We are the only Fawlty Towers tribute act to exclusively perform at the Hotel Gleneagles in Torquay, where John Cleese stayed and based his Basil Fawlty character on the late Donald Sinclair. We have also been ranked as the No.1 Fawlty Towers tribute act by the Mirror newspaper, we have a great team of professional actors and tour throughout the UK and Internationally with this show continually.

For tour dates and more information, visit: http://laughlines.net/forthcoming/

Story by EI Team | 09:00 | Monday 30th July 2012 | Comedy

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Comments

• Tom

  I didn't know they did father ted, i saw the fawlty towers one when in the UK, it was ace. split my sides laughing

  Posted 15:49 | Tue 31st Jul 2012

• fitzer

  Where is "Fawlty Towers" playing in Ireland again? It doesn't say on their website.

  Posted 21:35 | Tue 7th Aug 2012

• JohnnyMac

  We went to the Ted & Co show as part of a group. I must admit we were all a bit disappointed on the evening. Although it was light hearted and humorous in parts, it didn't actually feel like a Father Ted act. Their lack of knowledge of past Father Ted episodes and quotes were non existent or limited at best. A few members of our group (as well as myself) quoted lines from the TV show to some of the cast, as they interacted with the crowd, and they seemed puzzled to what we were making references too. Very disappointing. It felt like the characters from Father Ted were highjacked and butchered as the Ted & Co group made a quick buck of the shows success. Needless to say, I personally wouldn't go see this again. Perhaps their rendition of Fawlty Towers would be better??

  Posted 15:53 | Fri 5th Oct 2012

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